|
Home |
|
Site Map |
|
Announcements |
|
Current
Update |
|
Previous Updates |
|
About |
|
FAQ |
|
Campaigns 2014 |
|
Adriatric |
|
Durrės |
|
Elbasan |
|
Ethiopia |
|
Fier |
|
Korca |
|
Kosova |
|
Lushnja |
|
Nigeria |
|
Pogradec |
|
Romania |
|
Tirana |
|
Taiwan |
|
Uganda |
|
Vlorė |
|
Supplies |
|
Introductory Lesson |
|
Basic English |
|
Basic Bible |
|
Advanced English |
|
Advanced Bible |
|
Evidences Courses |
|
Godhead Courses |
|
Nations University |
|
How to Use WEI |
|
Matt 28:18-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to
me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
NIV
John 20:10-16
10 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11 but Mary stood outside
the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and
saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the
head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"
"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they
have put him." 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there,
but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him
away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
16 Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means
Teacher).
NIV
Learn More
|
| |
|
Albania
/ Kosova Relief Archive |
|
WELCOME! |
PLEASE FORWARD THESE MESSAGES TO YOUR CONGREGATIONS AND ASK FOR SUPPORT! |
|
The Kosovars have gone home for the
most part. Some have stayed in Albania
because of the severe damage to their homes and property. They prefer to
stay in Albania for the winter. In Tirana, those in Albanian homes are
being visited by members of the church. This gives opportunity for
learning more of God's word. Kosovar teens are now enjoying the teen group
in Tirana. A second excursion into Kosova was in mid August. Doug Smith
went to Prizren in October 1999 and the first WEI campaign was held in
July 2000. The church was planted there. In
2001 the church was 12 strong with a regular attendance of about 20.
Teaching during the winter is very limited;
however, during the period September through November of 2001, 63 students
were on the rolls with 5 teachers. |
|
|
PLEASE HELP US RESPOND TO THIS
GREAT NEED!
Send contributions to |
Church of Christ Albanian Fund
P.O. Box 150
Little Rock, AR 72203
Bill McDonough |
World English Institute
1525 N W Division
Gresham OR 97030
Dick Ady |
All contributions are acknowledged with a
tax deductible receipt, regular reporting and accounting.
Yours for sharing the love of Christ with all while there is yet time.
|
GOTO
|
 |
MESSAGE FROM ALBANIA AID TO KOSOVA REFUGEES
|
|
Albania
Kosova
Links to the Internet change often. To find
the information that you want, it is suggested that you use a search
engine such as www.google.com
Use search words such as Albania history,
Albania maps, etc. |
|
Subj:
Fw: ELBASAN REFUGEES ETC (5-7-99)
Date: 7/5/99 5:40:28 AM
Pacific Daylight Time
From: (Pete Hodge)
Date: lundi 5 juillet 1999 10:04
Subject: ELBASAN REFUGEES ETC (5-7-99)
Greetings,
The five ton former refrigerator truck was crammed full of peoples
belongings, and the 26 owners were trying to make themselves as comfortable
as they could. It was going to be a very long journey overnight to Mitrovica.
But the smiles on the faces showed they were not concerned about the lack of
comfort, they were going home!
This was the scene at one of the local centres on Saturday evening as
another group of refugees began the long trip back to Kosova.
Some of these were families that we had been
caring for, and others were members of the family of our sister Alma. The
night before we had also said good bye to Zenun and his family.
He was a giant of a man in attitude and physical build. We will miss him,
but have plans to visit him in the new year.
Our numbers are now down to 216 families
(1,863 individuals). This will drop even more this week as
more cities are declared safe for people to reurn to. We are also glad of
extra help with the work with the arrival of
Steve Byrne and Becky Payne. Already they are making the
load a little lighter for the team. Dulcie
will be leaving for a well earned rest in the UK on Monday (12th). She will
return to Albania on August 10th.
We want to thank all those who are continuing
to support our werk here. Our situation seems to be that
will be able to continue to fund the relief programme following the obvious
departure of the large NGO's including World Vision Int. No matter how low
the numbers will fall, we will continue to help those who are here.
NEWS OF THE CHURCH ON THE 4TH.
In this report I want to share whith you some exciting news.
Yesterday (4th July) was a special day for the
church here in Elbasan. We held our first service in our new building. The
Sunday school had over 65 attending, over 45 of whom where there for the
first time. There were also over 30 at the worship service.
On the Saturday we had been busy putting up walls and new lights, and
generally making the place look good. Our landlord had place two large
shrubs outside, giving the place a really special feel about it.
Steve Byrne did an excellent job for us in
preaching the first sermon. We are excited about the future
of the church here in our new facility.
Please continue to pray for the work here in
Elbasan. We are confident that the Lord's will is being
accomplished, and that we will see great things happen.
In Him
Pete, Dulcie & the Team |
|
From: Bill McDonough, 74133,1003
DATE: 7/5/99 7:54 PM
RE: Copy of: July 6-Kosovar report
Dear Friends,
You will be pleased to read this report and know that more then 10,000
Kosovar continue to be fed even though some are returning home. As soon as a
family departs another family is added to the list of those being helped and
although the faces change the numbers remain about the same with a slight
increase in some areas. Your contributions have made this all possible and
will have eternal impact on those people that are being helped, not only
with food but with the "bread of Life."
Bill McDonough,
International Director of Partners In Progress, (A ministry of the Sixth &
Izard Church of Christ in Little Rock, Arkansas)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Excerpts from reports being received from Albania
ELBASAN reports feeding 1,863
individuals last week even thought many of the Kosovar from
there are going home.
TIRANA -Many Kosovars are returning home now, especially those in
the camps. Those living in private homes are taking a little more time to
make sure that Kosova is safe. In some cases, one member of the family will
go ahead of the others to check things out. Of the 800 plus families that we
are feeding, only 20 have gone home...that we know about. In the meantime,
we have signed up more families. Matilda reports that those returning home
live in Gjakova because it is known to be safe. Many of our families are
from this area of Kosova. The refugees are happy to be going home, but not
without gifts of thanks, hugs, and tears.
Before the refugee leave we provide them with
food for the trip and a little bit as reserve, because the normal life in
Kosova is still far from starting. In place of them that leave we register
new families which we could't help before because of the high number of the
refugees living in Tirana. So, in total there
are around 1,000 families or 9,000 refugees that we continue to help.
Many of the Kosovar are coming to services and and we are studying the Bible
with some. Each one gets a copy of the Tract on Jesus and we are
distributing many Children's Bibles.
More then
$200,000 has been spent thus far but other organizations have given us
$305,000 worth of food and supplies to distribute through our churches.
This is helping to stretch the funds and we are formulating plans to help
those returning to Kosova.
Please continue to pray for the brethren in
Albanian and those they are assisting. |
|
Subj: TIRANA CHURCH OF
CHRIST REFUGEE REPORT #10
Date: 7/7/99 1:50:26 PM Pacific Daylight Time
From: Artan Samara)
Greetings to all you brethren in the name of Jesus our Saviour. Another week
has gone from our last report about the Kosova refugees in Albania and the
work carried by the Church of Christ in Tirana and the brethren from WEI.
As we informed in the last report the number of the refugees going
back home is increased so much and together with the joy to see them leaving
to their homes we feel emptiness in our hearts. For these three
months we shared together sadness and happiness and it is strange to admit
that they are not here any more.
Anyway, we Praise the Lord who made possible Peace to be agreed. We are
looking forward for going and spreading the Word of God in Kosova. His Word
is what they need more then anything else.
The city of Kukes is full again with people with a difference that the flow
of people is going to the opposite direction, which mean from Albania to
Kosova. Refugees are arriving in Kukes from all over Albania. Most of them
are organised by NGO who accompany them to the border area and than UNHCR
takes care for them.
We as church continue to distribute
food to the families that have decided to leave so they can have food and
drinks on the way. With their request we also agreed to give to them some
more food so they can have reserves This process continues and for sure we
will continue tooffer our service to them in the name of our Lord till at
the last refugee remained here. So actually the number of the refugees to
whom we provide food is around half of those we were serving before, but
still the work at the warehouse continues.
Those last days we have been talking with a Spanish relief organization, who
are promising us to give another truck full of relief items, free of charge.
That was arrived after they sow the good work we have been doing
with delivering humanitarian goods to the refugees.
The Richard's are coming back this week hopefully with the van,
and we are looking forward to their arrival. Our sisters Emily and Doris
have left to Italy for some weeks. They really deserved some rest after the
hard work carried over here. Brethren from WEI have already joined us for
the summer campaign and we are enjoying their visit. More brethren from WEI
will arrive in the next days.
Shortly these are some of the news that we would like to share with you.
We really appreciate your support and
prayers. May Lord bless you all. We
really enjoyed sharing the news with you and talking to you via e-mail.
Thanking all of you once again.
For the Church of Christ in Tirana,
The Refugee Crisis Committee
Artan, Tom, Artan, and Randy
FINANCIAL REPORT TO DATE:
TOTAL DONATIONS: $295,416.41
EXPENSES:
FOOD: 32,267.26
HOUSEHOLD: 5,707.39
PERSONAL CARE: 6,549.81
CLOTHING: 685.69
HEALTH CARE: 150.66
EDUCATION: 1,762.67
OPERATIONAL COSTS: 6,307.84
FUNDS TO OTHER CONGREGATIONS: 23,189.41
ENDING BALANCE: $218,795.68
The amount of free aid received and delivered till now is approximately of a
value of $305,000. |
Subj:
Copy of: Kosova Report July 9
Date: 7/9/99 4:21:43 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: 74133.1003@compuserve.com (Bill McDonough)
Dear Friends,
The UN reports are showing that fewer then 12% of the villages in
Kosova have pure water supplies, (contaminated by human bodies in them) 60%
of the schools are destroyed or damaged, 40% of the housing is destroyed and
land mines are everywhere. The UN High Commission of Refugees is
asking the Kosovar not to return to their villages but many are going back
anyway. However, our brethren in Albania are still feeding more then ten
thousand and anticipate this will be necessary through the winter as there
is little food in Kosova.
We plan to go to Kosova next month, with our Albanian co-workers, to
identify sites where it will be possible to assist the Kosovar when they do
return to their homes.
Brethren in Albanian have acquired addresses from
the kosovar they have been feeding and we will concentrate on working in
their villages in order to prolong the relationships that have been
established and use these as a springboard to plant churches. Church
planting will be a priority as we move operations into Kosova.
Please continue to pray
for the Kosovar and for our Albanian co-workers who are dealing with them on
a day to day basis.
Yours for sharing Christ with all while there is yet time,
Bill McDonough, International Director of Partners In Progress
A Ministry of the 6th & Izard Church of Christ in Little Rock, Arkansas
|
|
Subj:
TIRANA CHURCH OF CHRIST REFUGEE REPORT #10
Date: 7/13/99 12:14:49 AM Pacific Daylight
Time
From: RICHARDS
Greetings to all you brethren in the name of Jesus our Saviour. Another week
has gone from our last report about the Kosova refugees in Albania and the
work carried by the Church of Christ in Tirana and the brethren from WEI.
As we informed in the last report the number of the refugees going
back home is increased so much and together with the joy to see them leaving
to their homes we feel emptiness in our hearts. For these three
months we shared together sadness and happiness and it is strange to admit
that they are not here any more.
Anyway, we Praise the Lord who made possible Peace to be agreed. We
are looking forward for going and spreading the Word of God in Kosova. His
Word is what they need more then anything else.
The city of Kukes is full again with people with a difference that
the flow of people is going to the opposite direction, which mean from
Albania to Kosova. Refugees are arriving in Kukes from all over
Albania. Most of them are organised by NGO who accompany them to the border
area and than UNHCR takes care for them.
We as church continue to
distribute food to the families that have decided to leave so they can have
food and drinks on the way. With their request we also agreed to give to
them some more food so they can have reserves. This process continues and
for sure we will continue to offer our service to them in the name of our
Lord till at the last refugee remained here. So actually the number of the
refugees to whom we provide food is around half of those we were serving
before, but still the work at the warehouse continues.
Those last days we have been talking with a Spanish relief organization, who
are promising us to give another truck full of relief items, free of charge.
That was arrived after they saw the good work we have been doing
with delivering humanitarian goods to the refugees.
The Richard's are coming back this week hopefully with the van, and we are
looking forward to their arrival. Our sisters Emily and Doris have left to
Italy for some weeks. They really deserved some rest after the hard work
carried over here.
Brethren from WEI have already joined us for the summer campaign and we are
enjoying their visit. More brethren from WEI will arrive in the next days.
Shortly these are some of the news that we would like to share with you. We
really appreciate your support and prayers. May Lord bless you all. We
really enjoyed sharing the news with you and talking to you via e-mail.
Thanking all of you once again.
For the Church of Christ in Tirana,
The Refugee Crisis Committee
Artan, Tom, Artan, and Randy
FINANCIAL REPORT TO DATE:
TOTAL DONATIONS: $295,416.41
EXPENSES:
FOOD: 32,267.26
HOUSEHOLD: 5,707.39
PERSONAL CARE: 6,549.81
CLOTHING: 685.69
HEALTH CARE: 150.66
EDUCATION: 1,762.67
OPERATIONAL COSTS: 6,307.84
FUNDS TO OTHER CONGREGATIONS: 23,189.41
ENDING BALANCE: $218,795.68
The amount of free aid received and delivered till now is approximately of a
value of $305,000. |
|
Subj:
TIRANA CHURCH OF CHRIST REFUGEE REPORT #11
Date: 7/13/99 2:59:56 PM Pacific
Daylight Time
From: RICHARDS
July 13, 1999
Greetings from the Church of Christ in Tirana! Our deepest
gratitude to all of you for your physical and spiritual support as we carry
out the Lord's work with the Kosovar refugees.
Things are beginning to calm down now as many of the refugees return to
their homes with great joy. Hugs, kisses, and addresses are shared as the
Kosovars invite us to visit them in Kosova. We send them off with a box of
food and extra supplies to help them as they travel home.
The number has now dwindled down
to 30 to 50 families that we are feeding daily.
We plan to continue to feed as long as necessary. Some of the refugees say
they have no plans of returning home because they have nothing to which they
can return.
The Richards returned home from Germany on Saturday with a 1995
Mercedes B100, nine seat van for $10,000. It only has 45,000 kilometers and
is in very good condition. They paid dearly at the Albanian customs
in spite of them trying to negotiate a better deal and sitting in Durres for
8 hours. Anyway, we are now thankful that God has provided a van allowing us
to drive in and out of the country. You may notice that the Operational
Costs have gone up a bit in the past week and this is due to the van
purchase.
We would like to give a
special thanks to the Stuttgart congregation for all the help they gave the
Richards while they were there buying the van.
They stayed in the bedroom of the church building and the kitchen was
stocked with food. Lane
Lawrence had already
scouted out several of the dealerships and Laurie spent a couple of days
driving them all over town. They are a super congregation and truly shared
the love of Christ by what they did.
So far this week we have
been trying to get the vehicle registered and insured because on Wednesday
we will make our first trip into Kosova to evaluate the situation! David
Goolsby of Healing Hands International has been in Tirana since last
Saturday and we (David, Artan, Artan, and Randy) will travel there together.
We plan to be back on Saturday. We are packing as if we were going camping
(sleeping bags and our own food) since we don't know what kind of situation
we will find in Kosova. We will go to Prizren, Pristina, and Gjakova because
many of the people we helped live in these areas. Please pray for our safety
on this trip and that it will be a fruitful one. We look forward to the day
the church is planted in Kosova!
This letter is a little shorter since things are calming down now, but we
are already excited about next week's letter since we will be able to give
you a firsthand account of the situation in Kosova. May God bless all of
you!
For the Church of Christ in Tirana,
The Refugee Crisis Committee
Artan, Tom, Artan, and Randy
FINANCIAL REPORT TO DATE:
TOTAL DONATIONS: $295,416.41
FOOD: 32,267.26
HOUSEHOLD: 5,754.06
PERSONAL CARE: 6,549.81
CLOTHING: 685.69
HEALTH CARE: 150.66
EDUCATION: 1,762.67
OPERATIONAL COSTS: 22,156.46
FUNDS TO OTHER CONGREGATIONS: 23,189.41
ENDING BALANCE: $202,900.39Subj:
Kosova
Date: 7/14/99 8:57:28 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: donyelton@wfrchurch.org (Don Yelton*)
July 14, 1999 On the road to Kosova
In a phone call last night Randy Richards and David Goolsby informed me that
today they begin the long drive into Kosova for a
four-day survey trip.They
have names and addresses of former Kosovar refugees who have returned home
that they will visit. The object of the trip is to deliver relief supplies
and to determine what we need to do to help the Kosovars live through the
winter as they begin to rebuild their homes. Please pray for the safety and
work of these good brothers.
Don Yelton
Quotes from the July 13, 1999 Relief Report of the church in Tirana,
Albania: |
|
Subj:
for Dick Ady
Date: 7/8/99 3:11:41 PM Pacific
Daylight Time
From: VirJax@maf.org (VirJax)
To: WEIbp@aol.com
Dear Dick,
From your composite reports on refugee relief work in Albania, it's apparent
that our reports are still not reaching you. We are sorry for this and have
attached our June report for your information. For many reasons the
challenge set before the church in Vlore differed from that of the churches
in Tirana and Elbasan. We seem to have had fewer refugees in our area
(15,000) and we had a plethora of organizations clamoring to help. It was
not necessary for us to be the primary supplier of basic foodstuffs as World
Vision and Catholic Relief Services divided up the town for this purpose.
World Food Project designated ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency)
their exclusive agent in Vlore and, oddly, the Kosovars complained that the
Adventist rations contained no meat, cheese, or eggs. Interesting! These
items we were glad to purchase and distribute,as well as cases of fresh
fruit. We had been told to expect the refugees to be here for a much longer
period of time, so we sought to find any and all sources for the items we
needed. We were surprisingly successful doing this, once the large
international agencies got up to speed. We were surprised how generous the
Catholics and Adventists were in sharing truckloads of items for us to
distribute -- as was also a well- supplied orphanage here which is managed
by an American couple from a church in Gresham.
In addition to food, medicine, and hygiene items, we also spent money on
projects such as building sidewalks into the gymnasiums, erecting
clotheslines, pouring a cement pad in the clothes-washing area, providing
picnic tables for the families in the gyms, etc. -- we opted out of the big
ticket items such as rebuilding the toilets/showers, and reroofing the gyms.
We did work extensively with World Vision in drawing up work orders for
improvements on the seriously dilapidated facilities. The Vlore region
Prefect office would allow nothing to proceed with-out a contract, and none
of the major projects were done while the refugees were here. After the
Kosovars left, extensive repairs to the grounds and buildings were
undertaken and now -- after the gyms are empty -- they have new roofs. Vlore
is perverse! Dick, the whole problem, from
beginning to end, was heartbreak-ing, but it was one of the best things that
has happened to the churches in Vlore and Fier. We were able to utilize most
of the members in serving the refugees and it really helped them to see the
church as an organization with care and love, and the resources to express
this in action. We were very proud of their eagerness to serve.
We have lately been busy distributing the unused supplies to families in the
church and other Albanian families as identified in need. Many of our people
are unemployed and most of our families are struggling economically. It was
heart warming to see how they willingly participated in distributing all
that bulk of aid to the refugees when their own families were in need of the
same things. After clearing it with the agencies who gave us the items, we
were glad to begin sharing them with our Albanian families.
We are grateful for the money shared with us, but as our involve-ment in
refugee activity is concluded, please inform us of what you want done with
the remaining funds. We were able to locate a very nice apartment for Art
and Don touse this summer in Fier. The price was well within
the suggested guidelines Art gave us, but our sisters in Fier were
scandalized by the cost. We negotiated a small reduction, but ended with a
three room apartment for six weeks: $750. The men will need to pay for the
groceries, but the owner's wife has agreed to do the shopping, cooking (two
meals/day), and laundry for about $180. We are sorry we have not been able
to locate a larger meeting place. Every available space seems to have been
rented by one of the many groups who came to do refugee work. As the summer
passes, this may change. We hope so.
Thank you again for your assistance with the Kosovars. We look forward to
your time in Albania this summer.
Your fellow servants, Virgil and Jackie |
|
Subj:
TIRANA CHURCH OF CHRIST REFUGEE REPORT #12
Date: 7/20/99 2:16:55 PM
Pacific Daylight Time
From: RICHARDS
Greetings in the most holy name of Jesus our Savior!
It has been an eventful week since the last report about the refugee
situation. During the past week David Goolsby from Healing Hands
International has been here to see first hand the work being done by the
church in Tirana and to see how their organization can help in the future.
As a part of the survey he and three members
of the crisis committee from the church went to Kosova to observe the damage
and try to make contact with some of the people the church has been helping.
Early in the morning of July 14th, David
Goolsby, Artan Samara, Artan Xhaferi, and Randy Richards set out toward
Kukes, Albania, the first stop on our fact finding mission. After about one
and a half hours of traveling north on the highway we turned off had headed
for the mountain road that eventually took us to Kukes. For the next seven
hours we were on gravel roads (I use the term road loosely) bouncing and
shaking, dipping and pitching around hairpin turns with no guard rails.
Occasionally, David reminded us to get away from the edge of the road since
it was washed out and ready to collapse. We had a three hour delay in one
spot while an overturned semi truck full of plywood was cleared from the
road. A short time later there was an overturned fuel truck and we had to
drive about 1 kilometer in a stream of diesel. When we got closer to Kukes
we saw another overturned semi. It had apparently been there for a day or
two since it was off the road and the contents had been removed. We had
dinner in Kukes and moved on to Prizren, Kosova.
As we moved into Kosova, we saw numerous
burned out homes and warnings of land mines in the fields along the road. We
arrived in Prizren, secured a pair of hotel rooms and went out to see what
people were doing to recover from the nightmare they had been through. It
was late in the evening and we found an area where the people were just out
walking in the streets, greeting each other and looking for familiar faces.
It was almost a party atmosphere. We sat off to the side to watch the people
and saw many happy faces...people who were just
happy to be home.
The next day we were off to Gjakova to try to meet some of the
recipients of the aid that had been given by the church. On the road between
Prizren and Gjakova we saw more of the work of the Serbs. There were
demolished mosques, dead livestock, burned farms, and countless numbers of
homes that will never be livable again due to the destruction and fires. We
also noted some places that looked as if they had been hit by large NATO
bombs.
We saw a large grain elevator complex along the way and stopped so that
David could ask questions about the agricultural aspect of the war and what
the future looked like for the farmers. David found out that much of the
farm equipment had been destroyed and that the farmers were reduced to
separating grain by hand in many cases since the combines were few and far
between. They felt like they had been set back by at least ten years.
As we rolled into Gjakova, the first noticeable structure was what used to
be the police headquarters. NATO had hit it's mark and the building was
destroyed. This city had really been hit hard by the Serbs and most of the
historical homes and the older part of the city had been burned. Many of the
shops were open and many had started to make repairs to the buildings to
make them usable.
While looking for a person for whom we had a letter, we met some of
the people we had been helping in Tirana. They helped us deliver the letter
and then invited us to tour what had been their home in one of the most
affluent neighborhoods. The fire in their home had been so hot that the
concrete and other supporting structures were so brittle that the whole
place had to be destroyed and rebuilt. The family explained how they escaped
out the back of their home as the Serbs came to loot and burn the
neighborhood. This family has been living with another family member in a
home that has survived the "scorched earth" process. Luli, the husband told
us of how his business had been destroyed and how he planned to start over
again. The family showed us very nice schools that only Serb children were
allowed to attend since 1991. The ethnic Albanian kids were not allowed to
have access to the educational facilities.
One interesting thing we found out during some of the conversations was that
most of the Muslim Kosovars were non practicing. Also noted was the fact
that many of the Kosovan Albanians were Catholic. They too were persecuted
by the Serbs. So it appears that the motivation for the persecution was
ethnic, not religious.
The road to Kukes, Albania had been so bad that it shook one of the wires to
the starter motor on the van loose and we were having to push start it about
half the time when we stopped. It became important to always park
at the top a hill or some other incline.
We left Gjakova on our way to Pea. As we worked our way northward there was
more and more destruction and almost all the homes had been burned so that
the Albanian Kosovars could not inhabit them when the Serb population
started pulling back. When we arrived in Pea we could see that it too had
suffered greatly. We had no luck in finding the people we sought in Pea so
after a couple of hours we moved east toward Pristina.
While driving to Pristina we had two detours around bridges that had been
bombed, but for the most part the roads in Kosova were very good. In
Pristina we didn't really see that much damage but we just kind of passed
through after finding out the hotel was much more than we wanted to spend.
We only had one name to look up there and had no address or phone number so
we moved on to Skopia, Macedonia.
On the way to Macedonia, there was an accident that caused a major traffic
jam for several kilometers in all directions. Somewhere along the highway
heading for Skopia, two elderly village women decided to challenge a rather
large military truck that was speeding down the hill in our direction. They
ran out in front of the truck, got confused, and stopped. Then each of them
ran for opposite sides of the road. All the while the truck driver has his
breaks locked and smoke was pouring off the tires. The truck leaned then
tilted and then headed for us. Well, God was watching over all of us because
the driver maintained control and no one was hurt and we all missed each
other.
Our group arrived in Skopia late in the evening thanks to an extended visit
with the Macedonian border guards. It must have something to do with the
Communist system that was in place for so many years in this part of the
world. There seems to be reams of paper work that looks completely counter
productive. We were also required to have our tires sanitized before
entering the country. It must have been about 9:30 PM when we finally
settled into the hotel for the night.
The next day David, Artan, and Artan ate a good breakfast so they could have
the strength to push start the van whenever it got turned off. We drove
through Macedonia to avoid going back over the mountains in the Kukes area.
After another lengthy border crossing, this time with the Albanian border
guards, we were on our way back to Tirana.
Now we will digest all that we saw and heard and then
ask God for the wisdom and insight as to how to proceed with aiding Kosova
and evangelizing the people there. We also ask for your prayers and
suggestions as to how this should be accomplished.
Meanwhile, Tom, Matilda, and Ruendi are still
feeding an average of 20 families each day.
These are stragglers who will remain in Tirana
for some time because they say there is nothing to go home to. Their
families are dead or missing and their homes have been burned. Many of our
people we are feeding are new to us and are coming because the other
organizations have quit feeding them and are closing down their operations
locally. We will be working more closely with these people encouraging them
and teaching them the good news about Jesus.
The refugee crisis seems to be just about over
in Elbasan and the church there is giving us most of their reserve stock of
food so that it won't just sit there getting old. We thank them for their
willingness to share and to help us in the effort to help others.
ALTHOUGH I (RANDY) USUALLY WRITE THE WEEKLY REPORT, I ASKED ARTAN SAMARA TO
GIVE HIS IMPRESSIONS OF THE TRIP TO KOSOVA. THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH WAS
WRITTEN BY ARTAN:
We stopped in a village named Zerze near Prizren. It was totally destroyed.
There we met a young boy who was working in repairing his house. We asked
him to tell us something about what happened to his village. Very soon there
came another young man and an old man. As soon
as they learned that we were coming from Albania, they hugged us strongly
and started to express their thankfulness for the love and help Albania had
given to them while they were forced to leave their land and their houses.
They also expressed their deep appreciation to our American brothers for the
help that Americans in general had given Kosova and for justice in this area
of Balkan. They told us how the Serbs had surrounded their
village and then bombed the village and the houses while people were still
inside. People started to get out and in a panic they went behind the
village in a forest which was the only part not surrounded by the soldiers.
Many people were killed in their homes and while trying to escape. All
together 47. It was sad to see all those houses burned and destroyed and the
village half empty. But beside that you can see the hope in the eyes of
those young boys and man as they were working to rebuild their houses and
dream for a better future.
Thanks again for all your prayers and support!
For the Church of Christ in Tirana,
The Refugee Crisis Committee
Artan, Tom, Artan, and Randy
FINANCIAL REPORT TO DATE:
TOTAL DONATIONS: $295,416.41
FOOD: 32,267.26
HOUSEHOLD: 5,754.06
PERSONAL CARE: 6,549.81
CLOTHING: 685.69
HEALTH CARE: 150.66
EDUCATION: 1,762.67
OPERATION COST: 22,856.46
FUNDS TO OTHER CONGREGATIONS: 23,189.41
ENDING BALANCE: $202,200.39 |
|
Subj:
ELBASAN REFUGEE UPDATE 21-7-99
Date: 7/21/99 6:20:42 AM
Pacific Daylight Time
From: (Pete Hodge)
Greetings,
Sorry for the delay in sending this report, but getting access to the
computer has been difficult owing to the number of teachers here on our
campaign who have been sending messages. Also, their has not been too much
to report for the past week or so.
But, things change. Today we thought we would probably be winding up our
refugee work, as most of our families had left.
But to our surprise, numbers suddenly increased to around 50
families. Most of the other NGO's have left, and those they
were looking after have come to us. Fortunately, we have enough aid to be
able to care for these people for as long as needed, and a chance meeting
with World Vision Tirana office personnel got the response that we just
needed to shout for more.
Unfortunately, Steve Byrne and Becky Payne, who came to work on our
aid programme, are returning to Alaska on Saturday. Dulcie is also in
England for another three weeks, and I leave for Italy for a short break on
Sunday. But I know that the members of the church will rally
around, and will be able to deal with the issue next week. We only
distribute aid on Wednesday mornings now, so it is not such a burden.
The Campaign with ten teachers is underway,
and a large number of people are now studying the course, and many learning
about the Bible for the first time. Please pray for this work.
Our new building has adapted well to the role of meeting place and
teaching centre.
This time I have a special appeal to make. An
Albanian brother, Chimi, has been at the British bible School in Corby,
England for the past two years. He has just finished the course and is
currently seeking support to come and work with us in Elbasan. As I
understand his plans, he will arrive here around the first of September,
with or without full support, to work with the church here in Elbasan. This
will give us a much needed boost as we will be able to reach out to the
entire population, not just to those who speak English. Can you help him? He
is seeking $650 a month support. If you want more details please contact me
as soon as you can.
Please keep the work here in your prayers.
In His service
Pete |
|
Subj:
TIRANA CHURCH OF CHRIST REFUGEE REPORT #13
Date: 7/28/99 2:14:51 AM Pacific
Daylight Time
From: RICHARDS
July 27, 1999
Dear Friends,
"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ."
Romans 1:7b
Thank you for your continued prayers and support in our effort to help the
refugees and teach them the gospel of Jesus Christ.
According to the UNHCR, there are still 17,000
refugees left in Albania and 99% of them are in the Tirana and Durres areas.
That means we are still busy feeding them and ministering to their needs.
Tom, Matilda, and Ruendi have continued to
distribute food, diapers, and feminine hygiene products from the magazine.
The number of people has become more manageable for the moment. Matilda
reported that the team continues to register other families who have decided
to stay in Tirana for various reasons. They still have about 15-20 families
who come for food and supplies. Most of the other
organizations have closed except for Red Cross and we are told that what
they give is very minimal.
The van has been registered now and we will be able to move about the city
to get some of the visiting done we have been trying to do. It took about 9
trips to the police station by Artan Xhaferi, Randy, and Artan Samara to
get the job done. No problems with the papers, just a slow process. It took
a lot of effort to get the registration accomplished but only about 10
minutes to get it insured. We will put it to good use in serving God and the
community.
Last week Ruendi and Matilda hired a large
truck to go to Elbasan and clean out most of the supplies from the magazine
belonging to the church there. At the time their numbers had dropped so low
that they were ready to basically close down their distribution center. Pete
reports that their numbers have rebounded some and that they will continue
to serve as long as necessary.
We decided at last week's meeting that we will
begin visiting the homes of the registered refugees to evaluate their needs
and spend some time getting to know them. We plan to do this
every Tuesday and Thursday. Distribution will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, and
Fridays.
We have just requested 36,000 New Testaments
from Eastern European Mission & Bible Foundation. As soon as they arrive, we
will take a team into Kosova to distribute them. At the same time we will
offer Bible correspondence courses in English or Albanian. This is a
precursor to church planting in that country. Please pray that this effort
will be fruitful and will bring glory to God.
Once again we thank you for the funds you have sent and the prayers you
offer on behalf of the situation in Kosova. We are thankful that we are
still able to serve the needs of the Kosovars while so many of the other
agencies have moved on, and this opportunity is possible because of you!
We thank God every time we remember you!
For the Church of Christ in Tirana,
The Refugee Crisis Committee
Artan, Tom, Artan, and Randy
FINANCIAL REPORT TO DATE:
TOTAL DONATIONS: $298,156.41
FOOD: $32,607.63
HOUSEHOLD: $5,754.06
PERSONAL CARE: $6,763.14
CLOTHING: $685.69
HEALTH CARE: $180.29
EDUCATION: $1,762.67
OPERATION COSTS: $23,539.42
FUNDS TO OTHER CONGREGATIONS: $23,189.41
ENDING BALANCE: $203,674.10 |
|
Subj: War Report
Date: 7/23/99 11:22:55 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: donyelton@wfrchurch.org (Don Yelton*)
WAR REPORT 23 July 1999
Dear supporters and friends,
Many refugees are returning to Kosova and the first fact-finding trip of the
churches of Christ is complete. Our brothers and sisters in Tirana and
Elbasan continues, but has slowed considerable.
In Elbasan, Pete Hodge reports that an
Albanian Gospel preacher who has just completed his work at the British
Bible School is seeking financial support to do full-time evangelism in
Albania.
David Goolsby from Healing Hands, along with Artan Samara, Artan
Xhaferi, and Randy Richards from Tirana traveled to several
Kosovarian towns on a fact-finding trip last week. They visited some of the
people they had been feeding in Tirana and are working on plans for the
winter relief program.
All would appreciate your prayers as new plans
are discussed to help relieve human suffering in both Albania and Kosova.
Don Yelton |
|
Subj: Kosova - July 29, '99
From: Bill McDonough, 74133,1003
DATE: 7/28/99 7:52 PM
KOSOVAR REPORT: July 29, 1999
According to the UNHCR, there are still 17,000 refugees left in
Albania and 99% of them are in the Tirana and Durres areas. That
means we are still busy feeding them and ministering to their needs.
Pete Hodge in Elbasan has given most of their supplies to Tirana in
preparation to closing their work, but had to reopen when more refugees
showed up asking for help.
Kosova: RAPID VILLAGE ASSESSMENT BY UNHCR
On 26 July UNHCR released the "second cut" of its Rapid Village Assessment,
carried out with the help of numerous other organizations to provide a
snapshot of conditions for return in around 2,000 villages throughout the
province. The report uses data collected from 456 war-affected villages, and
indicates that 54 percent of the houses in those villages suffered severe
damage or complete destruction.
The survey found that 37 percent of the villages studied hosted internally
displaced people. The majority of these IDPs (82 percent) cited damage to
their own homes as the main reason why they have not returned. Of the
villages surveyed, just 13 percent expect to have a harvest this season, but
31 percent reported having dairy cattle in the village.
Food availabilitycontinued to be problematic, with 50 percent of the people
surveyed relying primarily on humanitarian aid.
Only 17 percent of village schools sustained no damage whatsoever, with 32
percent being completely destroyed and the others requiring some degree of
repair. A teacher was present in just 35 percent of the villages surveyed.
A functioning health facility was reported in 23 percent of the villages, a
health worker was present in 68 percent of the villages and 40 percent of
the villages said they had inadequate water supply.
WE DEPART TOMORROW on a trip that will take us
to Albania and ten days in Kosova. The purpose is to identify one or more
sites where we can begin work in Kosova. Contact with
organizations that have commodities available for distribtuion will be
established and a beach head will be launched as soon as possible.
Missionaries and sponsoring churches are
desperately needed to move to Kosova to take advantage of this opportunity.
With half of the people in need of food and 75% in need of medical care this
is an urgent situation.
Please pary for us as we go with Albanian
missionary Randy Richards to launch this work. Your continued support and
prayers are sought.
Yours for sharing the love of Jesus with all while there is yet time,
Bill McDonough, Partners In Progress, A Ministry of the Sixth and Izard
church of Christ in Little Rock, Arkansas |
|
Subj:
War Report
Date: 8/5/99 11:15:05 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: donyelton@wfrchurch.org (Don Yelton*)
Reply-to: donyelton@wfrchurch.org (Don Yelton*)
War Report - 5 August 1999
Churches in Tirana and Elbasan continue to distribute relief supplies to the
Kosovars left in their areas of Albania. Please see our web site at
for the full text of the following email reports. Some quotes:
Don Yelton
"Lord willing, we will venture back into Kosova on the 16th of August and
stay for approximately 10 days." Tom
"We now register only those who have UNHCR identification cards. After we
have registered a family, we go to their residence to verify the information
they have given us. After that we give them food and personal needs."
Matilda
"Dr. Bob asked a man if he had hope. He said "How can I go back and build
everything? I'm 51 years old. I don't have time." The family was thankful
for the prayer." Matilda
"We went to the house of an old Albanian lady and she was sooooo poor. She
had five Kosovars living with her and she said they can stay with her all
the time they need. I will feel so alone when they leave. (Note from Randy:
This lady's whole house was about the size of one of our bedrooms and our
bedrooms aren't very big.)" Matilda
"The Kosovars have told us that we give better food than the Red Cross and
other non government organizations. One thing we learned early on in the
crisis is that variety in the food makes the people feel better".
Matilda |
|
Subj:
TIRANA CHURCH OF CHRIST REFUGEE REPORT #15
Date: 8/11/99 3:35:31 PM Pacific Daylight Time
From: RICHARDS
Greetings in the wonderful name of Jesus our Savior!
We continue to thank God for all of you who have made the ministry to the
Kosovars possible. Without your prayers and financial support we wouldn't
have been able to feed the Kosovars for an extended period. There are so
many Christians who have joined together to help us in this effort to feed
the hungry and lost. We thank you for the confidence you have shown in us by
blessing us so richly so that we can help these people.
On one of our visits last week we literally went over the river and through
the woods to visit a group of Kosovars who are living with a farm family.
After walking across some large water pipes and along a small canal, we
proceeded through a large cane patch. We then came to a very small house
with a barn and all of its flies just two meters away. You must know that
there are no screens in most windows here so what flies outside also flies
inside. The smell of cow and chicken waste filled the air in the house and
so did the flies. Not what we would consider a healthy environment. In
addition to this the people sat on the floor to eat and all shared a meal
prepared in one large pan for the family.
We gave dolls and beanie babies to the children and food and other supplies
to the family. I'm not certain, but these toys seemed to be the only toys
these children had and they were very happy we came. When the
family has some older children (7-12) we give them art kits that were
provided by the "Mennonite High Council". The kits are great for the kids.
They have markers, marbles, modeling clay, pencils, paper and chalk. Earlier
on in the crisis one of the kids drew us a series of three pictures. The
first was of their home before the "persecution"; one during the persecution
and one after NATO. The first was a beautiful scene of tranquillity by a
lake, the second was in blacks and grays with flames coming from the windows
of homes, and the third had the NATO symbol and reflected the hope for a
better tomorrow.
The 36,000 New Testaments have made it to Tirana and we will start the
customs clearance proceedings this week. The plan is to distribute them in
Kosova with correspondence course coupons in each. We also hope to
find out something about the receptiveness of the Kosovars in the process.
Next week some of us will go to Kosova with Bill McDonough to find the most
critical needs and try to address them. During the same trip we want to test
the waters by offering correspondence courses in English and Albanian in
some of the major newspapers.
Partners in Progress, Relief Ministries, and World English Institute are
trying to find suitable people to plant churches in the country. If any of
you are interested, PLEASE contact these organizations.
That's all for this week. There probably won't be any report next week since
we'll be on the road. As always, please keep us in your daily prayers.
Thanks again for all you have done for the work here.
In His Service,
Artan, Tom, Artan, and Randy
The Crisis Committee |
|
Subj:
War Report
Date: 8/13/99 4:51:08 PM
Pacific Daylight Time
From: donyelton@wfrchurch.org (Don Yelton*)
War Report - August 13, 1999
Dear supporters & encouragers,
This week's relief work is about the same as
last overall. Our brothers and sisters in Albania continue to feed and help
the poor refugees from Kosova. They ask for our prayers and send us words of
encouragement.
They add to their requests, our prayers and help in finding workers who will
go into Kosova and other countries in the region to preach Jesus and plant
churches. Please read their email on our web site at http://wfrchurch.org/relief.htm.
To His Glory,
Don Yelton |
|
Subj:
ELBASAN REFGUGE UPDATE 16-8-99
Date: 8/16/99 5:59:54 AM Pacific
Daylight Time
From: (Pete Hodge)
Greetings,
We all thought that the refugee work was over. Indeed, we had effectively
decided that we would close the work down as most of those who had been
receiving aid over the past few weeks were not genuine refugees. But after a
visit from two young men we knew, and then this morning (Monday) a visit
from a lady who we knew had returned to Kosova, but who told us she had
returned as her home was completely destroyed,
we reactivated the aid programme. Indeed, we actually dealt with 18
families today.
It is a little easier this time as those refugees who are here hold UNHCR
identity cards, which makes our life so much easier, as no UNHCR card, no
aid! We also gave aid to three families of 30
people who were returning today.
There are though, very few refugees in the city, and we do not envisage it
getting anywhere near previous numbers. We currently have sufficient aid,
indeed, we will be supplying Tirana with aid to take to Kosova. Anything
extra we need we have the funds to buy.
Like many, we continue to be concerned about the situation in Kosova. I have
long felt that there are a lot more tears to be shed there before it is all
over. We are also concerned about the level of violence we are seeing on the
Serbian and Gypsy populations. But we need to remember that there are a few
thousand who are involved in this, whilst there are over one million who
have returned. We all need to pray for a
peaceful conclusion to the troubles. Also, the Albanian
people, like people the world over, are not well disposed toward the gypsy
population, and as elsewhere, this ethnic group here in Elbasan are viewed
with suspicion and dislike.
Our summer campaign is coming to a conclusion,
and will end next Tuesday. So far there have been 16 baptisms, and we are
thankful to God for every new child of God. Two of our stalwarts, Ela and
Rudina have left to attend school in the USA. We miss them, and wish them
well in their studies. The new Christians effectively double the
congregation. Obviously this makes for a lot of work and added
responsibility this year.
We want to thank all those who came to be with
us for the summer. Some have already left, and the rest will leave next
week. At the end of September our brother Ronald Coleman will be coming here
to take some meetings on church growth, and we are praying that Shkelqim
(Chimi) Kafexhiue will be able to join us from the British Bible School as a
co-worker. Chimi is an Albanian and has just completed a two year in depth
Bible course at the BBS, and will be a valuable asset to the church here.
He is currently looking for support, so if you
are able to help him, or know of a church who might be interested in helping
him, please let me know and I can put you in touch with Him.
Dulcie and I are also beginning to plan our trip to the USA to visit
our supporting churches. It is likely that we will undertake this
in February, though there is a possibility, though slim, that we might be
able to do so this year. We will be looking for some help in obtaining
tickets for the trip, and also for churches who might like us to visit them
and give a personal report on the work we have been doing here. If you would
like us to do this please let me know as soon as possible.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Without you none of there
things that have happened this year would have been accomplished.
In His service
Pete & Dulcie |
|
Subj:
Going to Kosova
Date: 8/16/99 3:12:22 PM Pacific Daylight Time
From: RICHARDS
Greetings in the name of the Lord.
We just wanted to let all of you know that our family, along with Bill and
Marie-Claire McDonough, Artan Samara, and Matilda Hoxha, will be leaving for
Kosova tomorrow morning. We plan to spend 5 days surveying the country and
looking into the possibility of planting congregations of the Lord's church
there. We will be in touch after we return home. Please remember us and the
work in your prayers. Thanks so much.
Love in Christ,
Randy, Pam, and Amber |
|
Subj: TIRANA CHURCH OF
CHRIST REFUGEE REPORT #16
Date: 8/24/99 1:39:18 PM Pacific
Daylight Time
From: RICHARDS
August 24, 1999
Grace and peace to you. We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you
in our prayers. 1 Thessalonians 1:2
It has been a fruitful and busy time since we reported two weeks ago.
During this time Bill and Marie Claire
McDonough from "Partners In Progress" arrived after working in Nairobi and
immediately went to work with us. We (Bill, Marie Claire, Artan Samara,
Matilda Hoxha, and Randy, Pam, and Amber Richards) packed the van and headed
for Kosova on the 17th. We decided to drive through Macedonia rather than
taking the road through Kukes and we arrived in Prishtina late that day.
We men spent Wednesday visiting the
university in Prishtina to survey
their needs and to see if Partners in Progress could help them in any way.
We were given a tour of the facility and passed out coupons for free English
courses. In the meantime, the
women were passing out coupons for the English course on the streets of
Prishtina and tracking down information about the NGO
(Non Government Organizations) groups. We intended to run an ad in the
national newspaper for the English correspondence course, but found out that
the mail service isn't functioning at the present time. They think it will
begin again in about a month, so we will wait until then to run the
advertisement. In the afternoon we
visited the hospital in Prishtina to
assess the needs there. We also tried to locate a couple of the Kosovar
families who were in Albania during the war, but couldn't make contact. Over
half of the phone lines weren't functioning.
On Thursday we headed west toward Peja. Village after village we saw
hundreds of homes that had burned by the Serbs, most of which would need to
be completely rebuilt. Peja was utterly devastated. After a
bit of searching, we were able to track
down Sali, Aida, and Rina Kelemendi, who stayed across the courtyard from
the Richards during the refugee crisis.
They were so surprised to see us and we were filled
with emotion to have finally tracked them down. On the last trip to Peja, we
were unable to find them. It seems they have had to move several times
because their house was burned to the ground. Even now they are living in a
house owned by a man visiting Germany and when he returns, they will have to
move again. Because their house was a "Grade 5" which means that it is in
the worst condition, it will be the last to be rebuilt. That means sometime
next year. Their invalid wife/mother is okay, but suffering from the trauma
of the war and having to hide for 3 months, not daring to leave the house.
From Peja we went to Gjakova and the devastation was much
the same. We found a good friend of
Matilda's who she got to know while living here in Tirana.
Their family suffered abuse from the Serbs, but they seem to be overcoming
their problems to some degree. Matilda
and Lule had a joyful reunion. Then we
visited the hospital in that city where we toured the pharmacy, lab,
surgical wing, etc. We passed out Beanie Babies on the children's ward and
the nurses followed us everywhere. We all had so much fun together and
everywhere we went we signed people up
for the English Bible courses.
The hotels were full in Gjakova so we drove into Prizren for the
night. It is a very nice city, probably the one we enjoyed the
most. The devastation wasn't quite as bad there. On Friday we visited and
toured the local hospital, passed out more Beanie Babies and
more English Bible correspondence courses.
The hospitals in Kosova are in better condition than those of Albania,
however, they still are in need of many supplies. Once a missionary
moves into the area, we will take a truckload of diapers and other supplies
from our warehouse which will aid the hospitals. At the same time we will
take in a truckload of Bibles. On Friday afternoon we visited Festim and his
family in a village north of Prizren. Several of us got to know
them while they were in the camp here in Tirana. Unfortunately their home
was burned beyond repair so they are sleeping in tents and rough shelters.
It's adequate for now, but it'll be very difficult once winter sets in. The
Italians are doing the rebuilding in Festim's village and they are currently
repairing the homes without roofs, etc., but those that need to be
completely rebuilt will have to wait until next spring. Festim took
us to the local elementary school and showed us where the 600 men
in their village, Festim included, were lined up and held for several hours
as they awaited what they thought would be their death. Fortunately they
were all released. The school had been divided by a wall inside the main
entrance. The Serb children had classes in the nice section of the building
with 3 students per class while the Kosovar children were taught in the
rundown part of the building with about 30-35 kids per class. The wall has
been torn down now.
From Prizren we headed home, once again
via Macedonia. It was a productive trip and we all felt very good about the
future for the Lord's church in Kosova. Please pray that God will work
everything out for missionaries to be sent into Kosova and that His name
might be glorified in this Muslim country.
Meanwhile, back in Tirana the 36,000
Bibles arrived from Eastern European Missions in Vienna. They were unloaded
with the help of several of our Christian teenagers and put into the
warehouse until the time they can be taken into Kosova. Five thousand Bibles
were delivered to the church in Elbasan and in return, they filled our truck
with the remaining stock from their warehouse. We are still feeding refugee
families daily, and some are even coming from other cities. There are
currently 143 families registered with us.
At our crisis committee meeting tonight, it was decided to send out a
financial update and report in two weeks, and then we will begin reporting
monthly since the work has slowed down now.
Thank you so very much for the love you
have shown through your prayers, letters of encouragement, and financial
contributions. You are so important to
the work here and in Kosova, for without all of you it would not be
possible. We thank God every time we remember you.
For the church in Tirana,
Artan, Tom, Artan, and Randy |
|
Subj:
TIRANA CHURCH OF CHRIST REFUGEE REPORT #17
Date: 9/18/99 7:55:55 AM Pacific Daylight
Time
From: RICHARDS
September 18, 1999
How blessed is he who considers the helpless; the Lord will deliver
him in the day of trouble. The Lord will protect him, and keep him alive,
and he shall be called blessed upon the earth; Psalm 41:1,2a
First of all, I must apologize for nor reporting sooner but life has been
somewhat chaotic for most of us on the crisis committee. Two of our members
have been trying to move into new apartments or finish remodeling
so that they can move in. Most of this has been on hold since the crisis
started and just needed to be taken care of.
We had promised a financial report but due to multiple computer problems, we
still don't have one available.
I can tell you that we have spent around $7,000 on commodities for
the Kosovars in the last month
and will continue to buy food and such
for as long as they remain in our area.
On September 11, the
newspaper "Albania" ran a large and very complimentary article about the
church entitled "THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, THE LAST ONE WHO HELPS".
The article tells of the churches involvement since the beginning of the
crisis and about the churches intention to be involved until there is no
more need for aid in our area. Due to this article, many more refugees have
sought us out.
At the last count on Friday, we had
277 families registered and
receiving aid from the church.
We figure there are an average of nine members in each family bringing the
number of people being helped up to 2,493.
The relief given consists of: 1kg sugar, 1-2kg rice, 1kg spaghetti, 1kg
beans, 0.5kg cheese, 250gm margarine, 0.5kg jam. We continue to give a
variety canned goods including: baked beans, spaghetti, soups, and
vegetables. Ultra pasteurized milk and jars of baby food are also given.
We continue to provide for the hygienic needs by providing diapers, pads,
soap, detergent, baby oil, lotion, and powder. We also have a few clothes
that we let people rummage through to see if there anything they can use.
Thanks to EASTERN EUROPEAN
MISSIONS PRINTING, we are able to give Albanian language New Testaments to
all of the refugees. We also continue to give the illustrated children's
Bibles.
Tom and Matilda hear a
never ending stream of horror stories.
A refugee named Gentiana stated that 54 members of her family were killed
including her husband. She has been left alone with a 10 month old child and
no means of support.
Members of the church have
formed another group to have organized visiting with the Kosovars.
The logistics of trying to find
people even with addresses is very difficult. That's just one of the things
the visiting group will work on. Please pray for this out reach.
We continue to pray that
someone will be able to go to Kosova to plant churches. The door is open and
the field is ripe; now is the time to take advantage of the situation.
Thank you again for all your prayers, letters of encouragement, and support.
Because He Lives,
Artan, Tom, Randy, and Artan
The Crisis Committee |
|
Subj:
TIRANA CHURCH OF CHRIST REFUGEE REPORT #18
Date: 10/5/99 1:50:19 PM Pacific
Daylight Time
From: RICHARDS
OCTOBER 5, 1999
Greetings in the name of Jesus our Savior!
We at the church in Tirana thank you for your prayers, support, and letters
of encouragement concerning the refugees from Kosova. We especially thank
you for your prayers. We
continue to ask for prayers to give us wisdom as to how to help the Kosovars
to the best of our ability.
During the past month a
group from the church has started visiting Kosovar families, trying to
establish relationships and to teach them the good news about Jesus. Going
in groups of three, the members have been having some very good visits with
refugee families.
The group offers to pray with the family, plays with their children, and
also quizzes the family about needs other than those we are supplying. They
are trying to find out how to serve them best. As always, the families are
invited to worship and the other activities of the church.
We have given away many
cases of Bibles and children's Bibles.
We now have coloring books which have bilingual stories about the life of
Jesus. Some of the families have asked about the children's classes we hold
each Thursday. We hope that the Kosovar children will take advantage of
these classes.
Tom and Matilda report
that there are 300 families coming to the distribution center for food and
more families are registering every day.
These families have commented that they
are grateful for the margarine, cheese, and jam we have been giving in
addition to the basic staples because these items are necessary for life.
They say that rice and spaghetti does not give their families enough
nutrition. None of the Red Cross/Red Crescent packages have any of these
items. We also continue to give canned goods such as vegetables and soups.
These items are dwindling and when they are gone, they're gone since the
local markets don't carry canned goods. In fact, at first, many of the local
people had never seen canned foods.
One day at the
distribution center, Tom was helping a woman who didn't speak Albanian. He
asked if she was a Serb and she started crying. It turns out that she is
Bosnian and after the conflict in Bosnia, she moved to Kosova. Between the
two conflicts, she has lost her entire family and had her homes burned in
both Bosnia and Kosova. She has nothing to return to. Please pray for her
and our efforts to comfort her.
Also, please pray for Bill
McDonough and Doug Smith who will be flying to Germany to purchase a vehicle
for use in Kosova. They
will then drive into Kosova and with the help of God will begin the first
church of Christ we know of in that country. We will support the effort with
teaching material and whatever aid Doug and Bill will need.
As always, we continue to thank God for the generosity of the churches of
Christ and individuals around the world who have aided us in the effort to
help the refugees from Kosova.
For the Church of Christ in Tirana,
The Refugee Crisis Committee,
Artan, Tom, Artan, and Randy
FINANCIAL REPORT TO DATE:
TOTAL DONATIONS: $359,712.01
FOOD: 37,003.60
HOUSEHOLD: 5,754.06
PERSONAL CARE: 8,099.46
CLOTHING: 685.69
HEALTH CARE: 180.29
EDUCATION: 2,301.13
OPERATIONAL COSTS: 27,763.26
FUNDS TO OTHER CONGREGATIONS: 23,189.41
ENDING BALANCE: $290,735.11
|
|
